Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Premier League match.
If Tottenham Hotspur continue to be as poor in defence as they were against Fulham, neither the hard-working Micky van de Ven nor the bright mind of Thomas Frank will save them, especially in a match against such a clinical home side as Newcastle United.
Newcastle United
Across their last 10 matches in all competitions, Newcastle United have suffered four defeats, but none of them came at St James' Park. With such powerful support, the hosts simply do not lose there: they are on a six-match winning run. Their victims even include Manchester City (2:1). In the 13th round they also managed to take an away win at Everton, and they did it very comfortably (4:1).
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur are also among those to have lost at St James' Park, although that happened in the fourth round of the EFL Cup (2:0). On that occasion Aaron Ramsdale, then the reserve goalkeeper, played very well (six saves), and the forwards converted the chances they created (2.03 xG). Their recent league match on Sunday also does little to make us want to back them. They applied pressure on Fulham’s goal from the first minutes, but two attacks from the visitors turned into goals. Why Guglielmo Vicario tried to keep the ball in play by the touchline is completely unclear — he was immediately punished by a long-range shot into an empty net. A third goal was avoided only thanks to the defender, who blocked a shot from inside the penalty area with a sliding tackle right on the verge of a foul.
Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur Prediction
Newcastle United are strong anyway, and doubly so against such a disorganised Tottenham Hotspur side, so we think it is quite realistic to back them on the -1 handicap.
